Visit to London in Pictures, Feb 2018

Last updated on March 3, 2018

A Week in London

I always enjoy visiting London. This time, a foodie friend from Seattle suggested that we meet in London, and I was only too happy to agree. We spent a week walking around the city, eating great food, attending plays and having a wonderful time.

We stayed at the Corus Hotel Hyde Park. Rooms were fairly clean and we got a great rate on Expedia. The cleaning could be a bit better; there was some dust around. Also, the concierge was not very helpful. We had some old British notes to change and he said we could change them at any bank. As it turned out, it was only possible to exchange the notes at The Bank of England on Threadneedle Street, which we only found out from the reception. Overall, the room was comfortable, and there was a kettle with tea and coffee provided. The hotel supplied green tea in addition to black tea.

We walked a lot, between 14,000 and 22,000 steps a day. Highlights of our visit include:

• an evening show of Hamilton
• a matinee show of Phantom of the Opera that we bought at a discount price in person (I read the play in high school and loved seeing it on stage)
• hands-on art at the Tate Modern
• afternoon tea at the Landmark Hotel (bookable here) and Scoff and Banter* Oxford Street (bookable here)
• special mention to the sticky toffee pudding from Scoff and Banter
• lots of walking around and laughing, including a walk along the River Thames

Both afternoon teas were fancy, and plentiful. The most important part of afternoon tea, in my estimation, is scones. The scones at Landmark were perfect. They were dense and a great vehicle for the clotted cream and jelly. The ones at Scoff and Banter were too light and airy for my liking.

Afternoon Tea at The Landmark Hotel

At The Landmark Hotel, afternoon tea is served in an indoor garden, called the Winter Garden. The palm trees make it look like you are in a tropical paradise. Drinks included both teas and coffee. We got special vegetarian sandwiches made to suit our dietary needs. However, the unlimited sandwiches that were regularly offered only included cucumber as a vegetarian option. I am sure that the server would have gotten additional vegetarian sandwiches for us if we’d asked, but it would have been thoughtful if they had offered. Both my friend and I had the special chocolate menu.  All the desserts had either milk chocolate or white chocolate, which made them extremely sweet to my palette. I wish at least one of them had been made with dark chocolate. We ate at a leisurely pace over 2.25 hours and left feeling stuffed!

Afternoon Tea at Scoff and Banter, Oxford Street

 Scoff and Banter has a unique afternoon tea that includes a warm appetizer. I had the spiced scallops and wild mushroom arancini, both of which were delicious. The sandwiches were also unique. My salmon sandwich was served on a mini bage. The desserts were also special. I enjoyed both the sticky toffee pudding and the custard with rhubarb. My friend thought that the sticky toffee pudding was excellent but did not finish her custard.

* Scoff and Banter has many locations. The afternoon tea menu may differ depending on the location. A more traditional afternoon tea is available at Bloomsbury, Canary Wharf or Kensington.

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